Business Dynamics
Introduction to Computer Simulation; A System Dynamics Approach
Introduction to Computer Simulation; A System Dynamics Approach
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A simulation of a heavy oil well site separation process was developed to test some of the requirements of operating on the North Slope of Alaska. This simulation used estimates of the dynamic proportions of oil, water and sand coming from the oil well and several different distributions systems for moving well materials from the well site. Heavy oil consists mainly of oil, water and sand which can be separated by heat. The sand and water, from the separation process, are transported to a facility for further processing and re-injection. The proportion of oil, sand and water from the well varies both over short periods of time and also over the life of the well. Safety and logistics requirements set operations within specified limits and the simulations showed where conditions outside of the bounds could potentially occur. Critical was the need to always maintain the heating element immersed within the oil in the separation tank. Adjustments and redesign considerations were added to the models for simulation and re-analysis. Also, a set of initial conditions were simulated for setting expectations for heating clean water in the separation tank for start-up before the first heavy oil was added into the process for heating.